Then Massot approached the brothers. This time, on seeing Pierre without his cassock, he did not even make a sign of astonishment, but gaily remarked: “So you felt curious to see this affair, Monsieur Froment?”
“Yes, I came with my brother,” Pierre replied. “But I very much fear that we shan’t see much.”
“You certainly won’t if you stay here,” rejoined Massot. And thereupon in his usual good-natured way—glad, moreover, to show what power a well-known journalist could wield—he inquired: “Would you like me to pass you through? The inspector here happens to be a friend of mine.”
Then, without waiting for an answer, he stopped the inspector and hastily whispered to him that he had brought a couple of colleagues, who wanted to report the proceedings. At first the inspector hesitated, and see
